And So The Earth Burned
by telmeastory
Summary: A Bit of a shift on the traditional bashing stories.Discover what happens when Harry Learns he is being manipulated.
1. And So it Begins

I know I have been gone for a while. I have been focused on school and work recently, but this idea popped into my head and would not leave me alone. I promise more will come for my other stories, hopefully even in the next few weeks, but I had to get this one out.

He was livid.

Strike that, livid, pissed off, and upset did not begin to cover where he currently stood. He looked at the pitiful crowd before him.

"Why"

It was a simple question. One that could easily have been taken one hundred different ways. But in this instance, everyone knew exactly what he meant.

Ron Weasley barely pulled his head from the ground. His Gryffindor courage disserted him as he stared at the demon before him. Himself, his sister, mother, not to mention strangely enough the portraits of Dumbledore and Snape were gathered around, all trembling in fear of this monster.

"I asked once, and I truly despise repeating myself. Since, however, you all seem to be excellent at hiding things, I shall ask again…Why"

The words rolled at the start, with the Ss even having that hissing quality. It was the final word, thundered as if from a god, which nearly had him wetting himself. Ron Weasley was no idiot, despite what many thought. He also knew that there was little to no chance that he or any of his family would leave this situation alive if the power he felt rolling off the dark lord meant anything. As such, he went for the only thing which might grant them life.

Complete and total submission.

"My Lord, forgive me but we don't know what you mean. If you can clarify, perhaps we could offer some information?"

Ron felt himself squeak out that last word as those terrible eyes turned on him. Never had he seen such hatred. Such anger. Such pure, devilish emotion.

Never, had those green eyes made him fear for his life.


	2. Where did it all go WRong

Earlier:

Harry stood, awaiting the traitors. Beside him stood his ever faithful elves, Kreacher and Winky. With Dobby's death during the hunt, and Harry's subsequent actions of burying the elf by hand, the legend of Harry Potter grew amongst the house elves. As such, when he took over, they backed him fully. The support of the house elves alone gave him access to manors and homes that otherwise would have been problematic.

Alternatively, due to their treatment of him following the horocrux hunt, not to mention Griphook's betrayal during, the goblins lay under the bank they so vehemently defended. What a fitting end, stripped of their gold with the entire nation slaughtered. It almost made him smile.

Harry reflected back on the exact moment he had become what he was. For many years, even after the horocrux hunt, all went well. He had settled down and married Ginny, Ron and Hermione married and they all seemed happy together. It was at the 20 year anniversary that things changed. Somehow, Harry was in a fight. It was a duel really, when a rather sad Theo Nott decided he wanted revenge for his family as a good son. In the process, he had nearly killed Hermione and Harry stepped in to duel him to the death. The light show which followed left many in aww of the head auror. But it was the aftermath which ended their world.

Generally speaking, Harry went to Ginny as his healer. She had become a certified medi-witch during her career as a quidditch chaser and gone on to become a fully certified healer after. She would handle healing him and when he went on assignments, unless there was quick emergency treatment needed, Harry would wait for his wife. It just felt right. While many thought it rather difficult of him, for Harry it was a part of their relationship.

In this instance, however, Ginny was busy working on Hermione. As such, Harry was rushed off to St. Mungo's where he was given a full service physical. The bloodwork was not pretty. It turned out Harry was under a level of love and loyalty potions which would keep him beyond infatuated with Ginny, begging Ron to remain his friend, and thinking the sun shone out of Dumbledore's ass.

It was the end. Harry turned his anger on the world. He had seen what the dark could do and apparently the light was little better. Harry let his anger out to play.

And the world burned.

Within a month, every major political opponent of Harry Potter was mysteriously dead behind their, typically, rather impressive wards.

Within 2, Gringotts had been robbed blind. It was a week after this notice arrived that a massive explosion buried the goblins.

Just inside of a year, the vampire's had been brought to heel and every last person bearing a dark mark had been strung up along Diagon Alley in a display that Vlad the Impaler, Herpo the Foul, Grindelwald, and even Voldemort would have been impressed by.

Once the Dark submitted, the light began to fall as all of magic kind felt the wrath and anger of one Harry James Potter.

Only two stood by him. Harry had to admit himself proud that it was Neville who led the resistance. Not that it mattered. Neville would have been the most powerful wizard alive, but for the fact that Harry existed. Instead, it was dear sweet Luna who stood by his side. She still had that ethereal focus about her, though these days it was balanced with the strange way that affects all seeress.

Additionally, Hermione stood. While she may have disagreed with what he did, she still stood beside him. Oh, he could read the disagreement in her eyes, but she stood none the less.

But the greatest feat was as the master of death. Flamel and Voldemort both found poor imitations of the service this provided. Flamel ensure his body survived, but in that way it aged. Voldemort allowed his spirit to persevere, but his body was always in danger. As the Master of Death, however, both his body and spirit would persist.

Forever.

Which led us to here. To now. As Harry stood, ready for the traitors to come and bow before him. He had let them flee and live at first, but as he marched into Hogwarts, the final stronghold and the center of it all, it was time to talk.

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"I meant, Weasley, tell me why I should not gut you where you stand. Tell me why you have continuously dosed me with love and loyalty potions. Share with me the reason that every last situation in my life seems contrived and created. Or, if you prefer, manipulated for the greater good."

The pure fury in those eyes. The anger and frustration. But it was the hurt. That was what burned itself into Ron's mind.

"My Lord, I don't-"

"DO NOT LIE TO ME!" Harry's voice shook the very earth. Considering they sat in his throne room near the top of the castle, it was impressive to feel it this far up.

"I know all of your deceit. I know of the situation created where I should trust Dumbledore. Why else would he send Hagrid to introduce me to the Wizarding world? I know of the plan for me to meet your family, why else would your mother stand shouting about muggles outside the platform.

"I know of you driving me from Hermione. I know of those ridiculous manipulations around having me hate her for the broom. Of her just happening to be in the castle alone when you knew of the petrifying creature. Of Ron Weasley being the thing I should miss most in 4th year, after months of not talking."

At this point, Harry paused for a breath. His hair was shaking wildly in the magical storm brewing around him. The Weasley's stared in shock and fear, a position which was echoed on both Dumbledore and Snape's portraits. It was the former who tried to intervene.

"Harry, my boy-"

"Don't"

That one word, shared in a whisper so quiet that it felt hidden in the very wind, was still powerful enough to silence the one many thought the greatest wizard since Merlin.

"You stood back and let it happen. You, Dumbledore, served as the greatest hypocrite. You led me to my death, facilitated by Snape who rarely if ever provided use as a spy. You demanded I live as a slave for my entire childhood, while stating I should have a childhood. You demanded I be told nothing as it related to me, shaping me into the perfect little weapon.

"I don't care whose idea it was, but the potions were a step too far. Potioning me, I was upset at that. When you did the same to Hermione, however, there you went a step too far.

"So now, I give you one last chance. Tell me why."

Rather than speak, each and every being before him trembled. None could even lift their heads. Dumbledore and Snape were shocked to pure silence.

"So be it. Then, I shall make it as if you never were."

With those words, the fear grew. This was a level of magic that only one person in history could perform, regardless of the myth surrounding it. Harry stood and the weight of it all was upon his shoulders. But as he raised his wand, he was stopped.

"Luna?"

"Forgive me, my lord. I was unable to intervene previously for my vows, as well as knowing this was the way. But in this moment, I cannot let the innocent fall victim."

Harry stared for a long moment. With the exception of Hermione, there was no one more loyal currently alive. There was no on whose counsel he held of greater importance, again with the exception of Hermione.

"Then tell me, dear sweet Luna, on whose head does this blame lie. I have ruined the earth, all for the sake of this moment, and now you tell me I am wrong?"

There was a tense moment as everyone on the floor waited, their hope barely holding to that single thread. It was in this tense environment that a door opened, revealing an individual draped in a Unspeakable's cloak. There was a gasp from those gathered as the individual drew back their hood and spoke.

"It was me."

All eyes turned to the bushy haired form of Hermione Weasley nee Granger.


	3. What had happened

Harry felt something he had not in quite some time. He felt shock as well as a smidgen of anger at Hermione and Luna.

"What do you mean?"

His voice was the softest it had been since the traitors were dragged into the room.

Luna and Hermione, however, winced. This was the harshest his voice had been to either of them since they had declared themselves for him.

"I mean, Harry, that this entire process was me. It was my fault. It was my decision."

The anger and confusion fought on Harry's face. He once more asked the questions.

"Why."

"Because of what I knew." She turned her hazel eyes on the blond. "Luna shared with me, early on in her career at Hogwarts, some very disturbing facts which I just had to resolve. I met her in her first year. I was struggling being the odd one out in our trio since you and Ronald did not want to study, and she was already being teased. It was while meeting one day in the library that she shared of herself.

"Luna informed me that if things stayed on the current path, you would die." Tears were starting to form in Hermione's eyes. "If I continued to grow as close to you as my heart desperately wanted, it would lead to your death. And so I started to plan. It took a lot of work, let me tell you. Had Dumbledore been at his prime, there is no way a second year, no matter how determined, could have gotten the drop on him to add some compulsion charms. The lack of confidence you had from the Dursley's meant you could only see me as a sister. So I managed to get him to, as your legal magical guardian, continue to send you back there. I continued to ask Luna if things had changed, but she just kept saying we would be together and you would die.

"It was my third year, however, which changed the game. That Time Turner. Having that thing in my hands…well, at first it could only go back for short periods of time, but once I really got into arithmancy and ancient runes, it almost became a time machine."

Here, there were grins on several faces, no matter how faint. Of course Hermione, of all people, could figure out the secrets. But the grin on the witch's own face faded as she continued her story.

"I cried myself to sleep over that damned fight about the broom, but I knew it was right. It pushed you away, for however brief a moment. Luna kept saying us together meant death. I could never be the cause of your death.

"Fourth year, I knew you needed someone, but as the ball and the second task arrived, I knew I had to push you away again. Another tricky moment to confound Dumbledore, but it worked. Fifth year, Umbridge was easy enough, and you helped me in sixth by going on and on about Draco. I knew you were right from the start, but it was a simple and easy way to push you. The book, however, I still say you were wrong to use."

Here, Hermione glared imperiously down her nose for a moment at the dark lord Potter who stood in pure shock. Her glare lessened immediately, as she returned to the tale.

"The hunt, again was difficult. I'm glad you got the hallows, otherwise that piece from Snape and Dumbledore would have killed you. But after you left to face Riddle that final time, Luna told me you wouldn't die.

"I was thrilled. Finally, no death for Harry Potter. It meant killing everything my heart fought for. Then again, I had started that years before. I knew how I felt for you, so I started getting Ron to potion me and Ginny you. While I hate having treated them as such, I knew they could make you happy, but more importantly they could ensure you lived.

"But damn it all if you are not every bit the most stubborn individual on this planet Harry James Potter. It took potion levels that could have killed a crowd of Dragons. And you still fought them. You burned through them nearly as fast as it could be brewed. I actually had to create a whole new love potion, specifically for you.

"They say necessity if the mother of invention. Well, they're wrong. Love is, at least for me."

Hermione paused, the tears threatening to overwhelm her. After a moment, where everyone else was too shocked to speak. As she gathered herself, Hermione cleared her throat and continued.

"Unfortunately, even my marriage to Ronald did not change things. She noted that you were still on a path to death. So I continued, doing all I could to change that. Strangely enough, it was not until you discovered the potions that things changed. Luna finally shared that death was no longer in the cards.

"And I don't care if it took turning to the dark, or tearing down the world Harry. All I care about is that you live."

The room settled into a stunned silence at this. There was sudden movement as Luna launched herself across the room to slap Hermione. It was pure fury on the blond which drew everyone's attention, more so than the slap.

"You foolish, stupid woman. You didn't pay attention to anything. And for that, this entire thing is truly your fault. Love has truly blinded you, Hermione. You never allowed me to finish, nor saw the smile when I spoke of death. Death to follow a life of love. You never saw the horror at the moments when Harry was immortal. You never once paid attention to what not dying could possibly mean. You merely focused on Harry Potter."

Here the blond collapsed almost in tears.

"For indeed, so shall the earth burn when the blind eyes of love gaze or the truth.

"You never let me finish my tale to you, Hermione. So blinded were you by this supposed care, that you never took Harry's feelings into account. You never let me help. You assumed you knew it all, and as such, drew the world to this. We are well past the brink of collapse.

"And it all lies at your feet, Hermione Granger"


	4. No

It was a shocked 11 (almost 12) year-old Hermione Granger who was shocked awake from her dream. Or perhaps nightmare would be more fitting. As the weight of the vision came crashing down, Hermione woke in tears during the early moments of September 1st. While her parents tried to comfort her, they could not understand the terror or horror that came with a dream showing herself to be the destroyer of the world.

It was a quiet Hermione who scared her parents as they made their way to King's Cross to drop her off. There was something which made the young woman far more clingy than either parent expected. As such, they were waiting later and later for their goodbyes, almost until the train was supposed to depart.

Everything changed the minute a small boy with black hair and large round glasses came into view. With a determination they had come to expect, the two Granger parents watched their daughter determinedly walk up to the young man, take his hand in hers, and offer a watery smile.

The response was slow in coming, but the grin which stretched across the young man's face left both parents feeling easier as the two children strolled confidently through the barrier. Neither knew what had affected their daughter so much this morning, but things were now looking much better…if still a bit strange.

It was a teary Hermione, Harry, and Luna who watched this from afar under the invisibility cloak. The dark aura that had surrounded the three since Harry's campaign began slowly faded. At the same time, so too did they begin to fade.

It was a grinning Harry Potter who drew the two women beside him into a tight hug as they faded from existence, never more for the world to know that Harry Potter had burned the world down all over the misdirected love of his wife based on the visions of their best friend.


End file.
